


The Message

by thesaltydragon, UnfortunatelySux



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Boys In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, I Don't Even Know, Identity Swap, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Personality Swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 04:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14205294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaltydragon/pseuds/thesaltydragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnfortunatelySux/pseuds/UnfortunatelySux
Summary: Jared and Evan wake up in each other's places. Things get confusing. Then things get gay. What more could you ask for?





	The Message

Evan really didn’t like Thursdays. They are the Tuesday of the middle of the week—Not quite Friday, but also not Monday, so complaining is not as socially accepted. Nonetheless, he blearily rolled himself out of bed. 

His mom had told him she’d make breakfast that morning, and he could smell it from his room. He let his nose lead him, following the scent. Something was off about it, though. His house seemed different, but still familiar. He still knew where the kitchen was. He could never forget. 

“Honey, you’re up early,” a woman’s voice pulled Evan further from his sleepy daze. 

“Am I?” he slurred. “Didn’t realize.” He sat himself at the table, yet again accompanied by the feeling that something was not quite right. He chalked it up to being sleepy. That, and Thursday. 

“Your father didn’t keep you up again, did he? With his cop show reruns?” 

“No, I slept–” Wait. His father? Evan’s father wasn’t in the picture. He’d left ten years ago. Moved across the country to marry a cocktail waitress and have a better family. “What?”

His mother turned around. But it wasn’t Heidi. It was– “Mrs. Kleinman?”

“That joke got old when you were six, Evan,” she sighed. “Eat your pancakes.” She slid a plate to him. 

Evan’s mouth couldn’t obey him. He wanted to ask what on earth was happening, why Jared Kleinman’s mother was feeding him breakfast and why she was talking as if his father still meant something to him. But he could only do as she said. 

After somehow managing to eat four pancakes without even wanting to, Mrs. Kleinman spoke again. “Oh, your renewed license came in today. It’s on the counter.” She left. 

Evan could only imagine this to be a dream. If he looked at the license, it would move the dream forward and he could wake up to a real Thursday. He stood up, walked over to where Jared’s mother had gestured, and picked up the piece of plastic. 

It was a picture of him, not Jared. Why had he expected Jared? It wasn’t like they switched bodies, even if it was a dream. He looked, frankly, pissed off in his photo. What had happened? He looked over the information. His height was right, his weight, eye color– His birthday was all wrong, though. Months off. His eyes flickered upward. He gasped when he read it, and the beating in his chest could only mean it wasn’t a dream. “Evan _Kleinman_?” he read aloud, whispering. “What the hell?”

————-

Jared woke up as he always did. With a sigh. Mornings were not his forte. He dragged himself out of bed, blindly grabbing his glasses off of the bedside table and shuffling out of his room. 

He tossed himself down into the dining room chair, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses with a groan. “Morning, Mom,” he called, smelling the telltale scent of breakfast.

“Oh, honey, you didn't stay in your room this morning? How nice! We can have breakfast together!” 

Jared paused. That didn't sound like his mother. That sounded like- “Ms. Hansen?”

Heidi laughed confusedly. “Yes, Mr. Hansen? Why are we using our last name? Is this some sort of hip thing..?”

Jared blinked. “What?”

Heidi would have responded, but he phone chimed suddenly. “Shit. I'm sorry, Jare, I have to go. Breakfast is ready, eat as much as you like, yeah? Don't be late! Don't forget your meds! I love you!” And with that, she was gone.

Jared, still bewildered, looked around himself. This was definitely not his house. And why had Evan's mom insinuated that his last name was Hansen? Why did he feel so worried? What the hell?

\------------

Evan felt numb. It wasn’t the usual numb that came with his anxiety, but a duller, lighter numb. He put himself through the motions of getting ready for school, as if that could solve anything. 

He noticed more things that were wrong. His closet—Jared’s closet—was filled with clothes only Jared would wear. He put them on anyway. His cast was gone, too. Where his left arm had ‘Connor’ written on it, there was just a scar he knew wasn’t his. This was from fourth grade, when Jared fell off his scooter trying to do the tricks he saw on the commercials. 

He observed his face hard in the mirror. He still looked like himself. Blond hair, blue-green eyes, that freckle on his neck—but it felt wrong. 

He kept up the façade. He grabbed Jared’s backpack and went outside. He didn’t know what he’d expected. Jared’s car was in the driveway, but by now Evan started thinking No, that’s my car. It had to be Evan’s car. He must have had a really deep dream last night to be thinking about Jared. 

He got in, started the engine, and drove to school. He didn’t bother calling Jared; he probably wouldn’t answer anyway. 

———-

Jared got dressed confusedly, throwing on whatever he found first. This was wrong. He needed to find Evan. Maybe it was some prank or something he was trying to pull on Jared?

He got to school an hour early.

\------

Evan parked in the senior lot, like usual. He decided should go inside rather than wait in the car, so he stepped out and locked the doors. He didn’t know where Jared usually waited for school to start, or even when he usually got there, but he figured it didn’t matter. Something was obviously wrong, so why should he rely on what he thought he knew–or in this case, didn’t know?

He walked through the front doors of the building, noticing how other people looked at him as he made his way past the congregation of freshmen and sophomores who always stood by the entrance. They stared at him like he’d done something. He couldn’t figure out if it was good or bad. 

Evan pushed past some more students, finally arriving at the cafeteria, where he decided to sit and scope the entrance for any signs of Jared. 

——-

Jared walked into the school, feeling sweaty. Why was he so sweaty? No one looked up when he entered. That was new. He shuffled his way through the hall, head down. He didn't know where to go, so he headed to the cafeteria. What did Evan usually do?

Evan was about to give up. He was about to go back outside to Jared’s car and have himself a proper freak out—somewhat brought on by the odd fact that he hadn’t already freaked out. He should have been a hyperventilating mess by now. He was about to leave, but as he stood, he saw him. Just Jared’s head, weaving in and out between shoulders and backpacks. Coming toward him. Evan sat back down and waited. 

Jared looked up, eyes desperately scanning for some sort of familiarity. Evan! He scurried over. “Evan?”

Evan’s eyes widened. Jared must know something’s wrong; he wouldn’t act so excited to see him otherwise. “Jared!” His eyes trailed downward. “Are you wearing my clothes?” Hypocritical, he knew, since he was wearing Jared’s, or so he thought. 

Jared yelped. “You're wearing _my_ clothes!”

Evan stood up. “Well, sorry, but I woke up in _your_ house!”

Jared shrunk slightly. “I-I woke up at your house!”

Evan kept going. “Your mom made me pancakes!”

“Your mom made eggs. And toast. It was really good.”

“Your license has my name on it!”

“Oh.” Jared hadn't even thought to check his license.

Evan lowered his voice. “It– Look at it.” He pulled the plastic out of his pocket, holding it up. “It says Evan _Kleinman_.”

Jared blinked. “Did we get married?” 

“What?!”

Jared blushed, sputtering. “W-What? Nothing, I didn't say anything, I d-don't know what you're talking about!”

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think we got married,” he said. “If we were married, we wouldn’t have woken up in separate houses. Each other’s house. I–” He finally noticed something. “You have my broken arm!”

Jared's breath hitched at the increase in volume. “Y-Yeah. Hurts like hell if you hit it on something, too.” He held the cast to his chest protectively.

“What did you hit it on?” Evan sounded protective, as if he’d have to deal with the pain too. 

Jared blushed, looking down at his feet. “D-Doorway.”

“God, you have to be more careful!” Evan was surprised at his own tone and volume. 

Jared shrunk into himself. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? Are you okay?” This was very unlike Jared. 

Jared blinked up at him. “I- I— I don't know. S- uh.”

“Wait,” Evan said. “Did you take my medicine?”

“Medicine?” Jared's stomach felt bad.

“My anxiety pills. You feel anxious, don’t you?”

Jared grimaced. “Yeah.”

“And I...don’t.” Evan was starting to put some pieces together. “People were looking at me when I walked in. They never look at me.”

Jared sighed. “Not always a good thing.”

“But what is going on? Why are we all...wrong?”

Jared took a shaky breath. “No clue. How do we fix it?”

“I don’t know! We don’t even know what’s going on!” Evan was again surprised at how loud he was getting. 

Jared squeaked, falling into one of the cafeteria seats. “Sorry!”

“Stop saying sorry!”

“Sor—”

“Don’t you dare.”

Jared bit his lip, shoulders hunching and he picked at his cast. His stomach was hurting more and more with every word.

Evan sighed. “You should have taken that medicine. Didn’t my mom tell you to? She always reminds me.”

Jared shrugged. “Forgot.”

Evan understood. He used to forget often, even after being reminded. “Just– Ground yourself.” He looked at the two of them. “Can we switch clothes? I’m really not into this layered, uh, thing you’ve got going on here.”

Jared nodded. “Bathroom?”

“Yes please.” Evan stood up again. 

Jared followed Evan to the bathroom, eyes glued to his feet as he walked.

Evan couldn’t help but feel bad for Jared. If he was living half the life Evan usually did, he probably felt like shit. And all at once, too. At least Evan’s anxiety had been somewhat gradual. Jared looked frankly pathetic walking with his head down. Was that how Evan looked? He couldn’t dwell on it any longer, because they reached the bathroom stalls.

Jared finally looked up once they were alone. “S-separate or..?”

Evan looked at him like he was crazy. “Yeah, separate. Duh.”

Jared blushed, nodding. “Right, of course.”

Evan was already locked in a stall. He waited for Jared to pass his clothes over.

Jared locked himself in the stall next to Evan's, struggling out of his clothes and passing them over. “T-there.”

Evan passed his own wad of fabric over and immediately got redressed as quickly as possible. Being nearly naked at school was not a nightmare he wanted to live. “All done?” He tapped on the shared wall between stalls. 

Jared pulled on his final layer. “Y-Yeah. Kinda big, though.”

Evan looked down at where his own clothes were a little tight. “Wh– This doesn’t make sense. Why don’t they fit?”

“I don't know.” Jared felt, and probably sounded, defeated.

Evan tried to push away the thought that this must be what he sounded like all the time. “We’ll just have to make it work. At least I look like me now.”

Jared sighed as he headed out of the stall. “Yeah.”

Evan pushed the door of the stall open and exited too. “You can take your backpack, I guess.”

Jared paused. “We might.. need to keep those. Things kinda suggest that this stuff is ours, even if it's not _ours_.”

Evan blinked. “I mean, I guess. But then it’ll look weird if everyone thinks we’re wearing each other’s clothes.”

Jared sighed. “Do you want to change back?”

“Do you?” Did they even have time?

Jared shrugged. “I will if you want.”

“I asked if you want to.”

Jared bristled slightly. “I don't mind either way!”

Evan heard the bell. “Too late now. We’ll just have to figure this out as we go.” Unless… “Do you wanna skip?” Woah, now. Evan had never contemplated skipping class. Ever. 

Jared blinked. “S-Skip?”

Evan fidgeted. He supposed he still wasn’t immune to normal anxiety. “Uh, yeah, you’re always asking if I want to, so– Maybe we should.”

“O-Okay.”

Evan blinked. “Really?”

“Sure!”

It felt weird to Evan even thinking about this, but it was probably their best option. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Jared nodded, shuffling behind Evan. “Where are we gonna go?”

Evan pushed their way out the bathroom and through the doors of the building. “My mom’s at work, maybe we can go to my house.” He paused. “Is she your mom now?”

Jared shrugged. “If we're married then yes.”

“I don’t remember getting married, do you?”

“I don't remember going to your house last night either.”

“Something must have happened. Do you have your license? I guess this one’s mine.” Evan led them to the parking lot. Leading felt more familiar to him than it should. 

Jared reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He handed it over to Evan.

Evan eyed Jared for a moment, but opened the wallet and took the plastic card out. It was where his own usually was. “I don’t think we’re married.” He turned it around so Jared could see. “‘Jared Hansen’? I don’t think you switch last names when you get married.”

Jared shrugged. “I dunno then.”

Evan gave Jared the wallet back. “Maybe we should call someone.”

“Like who? Who's gonna believe us?” if Jared didn't sound defeated before, he definitely did now.

Evan sighed. “Okay, change of plans.” Since when was he the idea guy? “We’re going back in there to find Alana. She knows everything about everyone, right? And she has first period off. Maybe she can help us figure out what’s going on. Then we’re going to my house and you’re taking those pills.” It felt foreign talking for so long without rambling or stumbling over his words. 

Jared blinked. “O-Okay? Lead the way.”

“Unless you had a better idea? I-I dunno what’s wrong with me. I feel...fake.”

Jared laughed. “Yeah. I know. That's just kinda… it.”

“Huh?”

“N-Nothing. Let's just go find Alana.”

Evan eyed him again. “Alright.” This was all too weird. He started walking back into the school. 

Jared followed. “Where is she usually?”

“I think the library?”

Jared looked out at the sea of students. “That's a pretty crowded hallway.”

Evan looked down at him. “I know, buddy, just keep your head down. C’mon.” 

Jared did his best to keep up, but he ended up having to grab onto the sleeve of Evan's shirt when they almost got separated by a particularly enthusiastic couple that was canoodling in the hallway. 

Evan let Jared hold his sleeve. He knew how it felt. He wished people would treat him like that, so he decided to treat Jared that way. Once they got into the library, he turned around toward the shorter boy. “Okay, shout if you see her.”

Jared nodded, his grip on Evan's sleeve loosening as his hand limply slid down Evan's arm until it was back at Jared's side. “I’ll look in the- uh, nonfiction? Maybe she has, like, an assignment, or project. Or maybe she likes nonfiction? Y'know, like, Anne Frank and stuff. Not that Anne Frank is good. Or, wait, no! I mean, Anne Frank is _good_ but, like, not— I’ll check the nonfiction.”

Evan gave him a smile. “Good plan, Jared. I’ll scope out the fiction. Find me if you find her, yeah?” On one hand, it felt amazing to not be afraid of something he couldn’t place and to be able to speak clearly and concise. On another hand, it just felt foreign, odd, and creepy. On a third hand, Evan felt awful for Jared. He didn’t deserve the anxiety Evan had. If that’s what was happening. Wait, Evan didn’t have three hands. No matter, he could borrow one of Jared’s. 

Jared nodded. “Yes.” He turned stiffly, scurrying off to the nonfiction.

Evan sighed and backed up, turning down the first aisle of fiction books. 

Jared scanned the aisles, shuffling quickly. He couldn't find her.

Evan wasn’t having any better luck. He was sure she would be in the library. Where else could she be?

Jared grimace, scouting out Evan. “I can't find her.”

Evan groaned. “Me neither. Where is she? Should we wait for her in here?”

Jared shrugged. “Do we know for sure she’ll show up? I can... Text her?”

Evan looked at him. “You have her number?”

“....Yes?”

“Since when?”

“Couple months.”

“She talks to you?”

“S-sometimes?”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “Then should it be my phone that has her number on it?” It was all confusing. 

“Oh.” Jared paused, blinking. “Yeah, probably. Check.”

Evan pulled out a pretty new looking phone from his pocket, where he’d dumped all the stuff he’d been holding before they’d changed clothes. It was Jared’s phone, but it answered to Evan’s thumbprint. After a moment, he held it out to Jared. “Um, I don’t know how to find contacts on this.”

Jared clumsily grabbed the phone, tapping around on it with shaky yet deft fingers. “Here.” He passed it back to Evan.

“Thanks,” Evan muttered. Jared really seemed like a wreck. He felt worse for him with every glance. He sighed and opened a conversation with Alana. “Hi, Alana, this is Evan,” he recited. “How does that sound to start off?” He was awful at texting. 

Jared just shrugged.

“Okay…” Evan ended up sending the most polite message he could come up with. 

E: _Hi, Alana, this is Evan. I was wondering if you could meet me in the library? I know you have an off period and Jared and I would kinda like to talk to you about something. Thanks!_

The reply was fast.

A: _Sure!!!!!!_

Evan blinked. “She really likes exclamation marks, huh?” 

Jared nodded, smiling slightly. “She gets excited, I think.”

Evan hummed. “Sweet. Are we gonna get in trouble for skipping class?”

Jared sighed, puffing his cheeks out. “Only if they notice. Even then, usually they just find you and tell you to go to class.”

Evan nodded. “Right, this isn’t your first rodeo.”

Jared laughed nervously. “Right. I've never been to an actual rodeo before, though. I mean, you'd think, since it's Texas and all. Ha. Sorry.”

Evan felt the urge to put a hand on Jared’s shoulder, so he did. “It’s okay. I haven’t either. Too dirty. And southern.”

Jared already knew he was blushing. Damn it. “Y-Yeah.”

Evan looked over Jared’s shoulder at the table in the corner of the library. “We can wait for her over there, okay? You look like you need to sit down.”

Jared blushed harder. “Huh?”

“We’re sitting. C’mon.” Evan pulled him along. 

Jared gulped, falling down into the seat. Evan was still holding his hand.

Evan kept an eye on the door. “She should be here soon.” He didn’t let go. 

Jared gulped. “Uh.. Y-Yeah!” What did this mean?

Evan put his chin in his hand and his elbow on the table. “You really need that medicine. That’s priority after this.”

Jared blinked rapidly. “Uh, Y-Yeah. That's why I'm nervous and sweaty, absolutely!”

“That’s why I’m usually like that,” Evan said. “Even with the medicine. But it’ll make it better.” Was Jared really okay?

“'kay!” Jared gave a timid smile.

Evan was about to comment on how surreal everything felt when he saw Alana’s familiar ponytail bouncing behind the aisles of books. “There she is.”

Jared looked up, mildly worried that Evan would release his hand now that Alana was here.

Evan didn’t. He did stand up, though, so Alana could see them. 

Alana flounced over, smiling at them politely. “Hey, guys, what's up?’’

Evan sat back down and gestured for Alana to do the same. “Um…” He hadn’t really thought of what they’d say to her. “Uh, we’re kinda– We’re in a situation.”

Alana hummed, taking a seat. “Like a drug thing?”

Evan glanced at Jared. “Why would it be a drug thing? Are we druggies?” He was seriously asking. 

Jared blinked. “I don't think so?”

Evan turned back to Alana. “I don’t think it’s a drug thing. Um, we’re not–” He contemplated telling her the truth, but maybe that was a little drastic for now. “We need your impressions of us.” Where did that come from?

Alana paused, blinking in confusion. “My impressions of you?”

“Uh, yeah, like what kind of people are we?” Evan tried to elaborate. 

Alana cleared her throat. “Well… Evan, you always make rude jokes but I think it’s because you’re trying to cover up your insecurities and feelings. Jared, you’re really nervous and easy to push around but you’re also really cute and you mean well.”

Evan blinked. Rude jokes? That was all Jared. And he was the pushover. “I–” He disregarded Alana again, turning to face Jared. “I think we switched lives.”

“Huh?” Alana was confused.

Evan shifted his gaze toward her. “Jared’s not the cute one. I am.” Woah, where the hell had that come from?

Jared nodded. “He’s right. He is cute.” Oh shit.

“Wait, what?”

Jared yelped. “Uh nothing! I totally didn’t say anything. Unless you wanted me to?”

“Maybe I did?”

“Oh. Oh!” Jared’s face was burning. “Well in that case, uh, you’re really cute.”

Evan felt weird. “Thanks.” What was happening? That felt more surreal than everything else so far. 

Alana hummed. “Are you guys finally together?”

“Together?” Evan snapped his head up to look at her. “Huh?”

Alana smiled politely, nodding to their joint hands.

Evan ripped his hand away from Jared’s. “We’re family friends.”

Jared winced. 

Alana nodded. “Right. Is there anything else you needed?”

“Um, I don’t think so.” Evan didn’t see how she could help them anyway. 

She stood, waving goodbye. “Then, unfortunately, I have to go. Have a good day!”

Evan only waved back. When she was gone, he sighed. “We switched lives,” he repeated. 

Jared nodded. “Apparently.”

“I-I can’t be the rude one! That’s you! I’m not rude!” Evan didn’t bring up Jared calling him cute. 

“Right, I’m uh…. Right.”

“God, what are we supposed to do?”

Jared sighed. “I feel like crying. I dunno about you, though.”

Evan nodded. “Kinda like crying.”

Jared nodded. “Cry on each other?”

“More of a plan than I have.”

Jared laughed slightly. “Still, not a great plan.”

“Gives us time to think of one. Dr. Sherman says crying is good for thinking.” Evan nodded, a finger up in the classic advice giving manner. 

Jared hummed thoughtfully. “I should cry more, then. I could do with some better thinking.”

“Couldn’t we all?” Evan tried to joke. 

Jared laughed lightly. “So, what are we actually going to do? I mean, maybe it's just a temporary thing! Maybe when we wake up tomorrow we'll be fixed!”

Evan nodded. “I like that optimism. I hope you’re right. This is too weird. My pants don’t even fit me.”

“Your pants fit _me_ fine,” Jared teased, nudging Evan lightly.

“At least my arm’s not broken,” Evan said, nudging Jared back. 

Jared snickered. “I was j-jacking off too hard, right?”

“Yeah, you were,” Evan laughed. 

Jared smiled. “So, are we skipping?”

“I guess so,” Evan said, sighing. “This is gonna eat my conscience alive.”

Jared shrugged. “It’ll be fine,” he assured, waiting for Evan to take the lead.

Evan stood up. “Let’s get you that medicine. It’s not too late to take it yet.”

Jared nodded. “I hope it helps.”

“It should. C’mon. We can change back when we get there.” Evan led him all the way back to Jared’s car, which he figured was his now. “I’m driving.”

Jared nodded submissively, sliding into the passenger seat.

Evan paused before putting the key in. “Do I really act like that?”

Jared’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Like what?”

“Like that. All obedient and scared.”

Jared pouted. “Yeah, I guess. It’s nice when you do it, though. I’m just pitiful.”

“I’m sorry, Jared.”

Jared pursed his lips, eyebrow quirking. “Sorry about what? You didn't do anything. It's fine.”

“I dunno, I guess even now, I can’t help but be sorry. But it feels like it’s for a different reason now. I can’t place it.” Evan finally started the car and began pulling out of the parking lot. 

Jared grimaced internally. He knew why Evan felt sorry. He didn't say anything.

“So, um, sorry.” Evan pulled onto the street. 

Jared nodded. “Okay.” His fingers crept closer to Evan’s.

Evan didn’t hesitate when he saw Jared’s hand in the corner of his eye. He grabbed it, held it tightly, and continued wordlessly driving with his left hand. 

Jared turned to look out of the window, hoping Evan couldn't see his obvious blush. Evan Hansen was one of the most confusing people Jared knew. “This is crazy, huh? This kind of thing only happens in books and movies and stuff.”

“Super crazy,” Evan agreed. “You sure you didn’t wish on a star or find a genie or something?”

Jared pretended to think. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention! I made deal with a witch that lives in the attic of my house. Must've slipped my mind.”

“Mm, good thing you remember now.”

Jared hummed. “Mhm.” He found his thumb absently tracing small circles over the back of Evan's hand.

“What’d’ya make the deal for?” Evan felt like he might throw up. Jared could afford to humor him for a while. 

Jared sighed, leaning his head back against the seat and letting his eyes fall closed. “Getting my prince charming to love me.”

Evan kept his eyes on the road. “How did doing this achieve that?”

Jared shrugged. “I dunno yet.”

“Huh. Must be complicated.”

Jared laughed lightly. “You have no idea, Ev.”

“This whole thing is making me feel weird.” Evan knew it was off topic, if only a little, and that they’d already discussed it, but he’d gotten another wave of...foreign feelings. Except, that time, it felt a little more familiar, different from the first couple. 

Jared guffawed. “What, switching lives? No way, this feels totally normal what do you mean?”

Evan scoffed. “You’re right, sorry I’m such a hard ass.” He paused. “I don’t know why I said that.” 

Jared laughed slightly, but it didn't quite feel genuine. “Because I'm a hard ass.”

“Only sometimes.” Evan blinked. “I really didn’t mean to say that.”

Jared shrugged, eyes still closed. “It's true. And I know it. I don't know why I don't try to be better.”

“You could start now,” Evan suggested. 

Jared was quiet for a second. “I suppose I could, couldn't I? Maybe then people will stop rolling their eyes every time I talk.”

“They do that?” Evan thought that was awful. Surely it couldn’t be true. 

Jared gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah. It’s crazy, really. Almost every time without fail. Doesn't even matter what I say. I doubt they actually listen, anyway.”

“God,” Evan breathed. “I’m sorry.”

Jared cracked an eye open, casting him a small resigned smile. “Don’t be. I did it to myself with how I act.”

Evan squeezed Jared’s hand. “Sorry you had to act that way.”

“Yeah,” Jared muttered. “Me too.”

Evan sighed. He wished Jared could be happy. Then he could be, too. “We’re here. Uh, your house.”

Jared hummed, stretching his arms above him head. “Is it? Seems like it's your house “

“I think it’s yours now,” Evan countered. 

Jared snorted, hopping out of the car. “I feel terrible.”

Evan turned the car off. “Yeah, sorry about that. Let’s get those pills.” He got out and locked the doors. 

Jared clambered out of the car awkwardly, grimacing at his limbs refusal to cooperate. “God, anything to feel.. not like this.”

“It’ll take a while to kick in, but you should feel better.” Evan led him inside and to his room, even though he couldn’t help but feel like an intruder. 

Jared sighed, chewing on his nails. “Well what are we gonna do after that?”

Evan shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

“Hm,” Jared hummed. “I think we should try to wait it out. See if maybe when we wake up we’re back to normal.”

“Yeah? That might work.” Evan opened the wooden box on the bedside table. “You can dry swallow, right?”

“Sure, sounds kinky.”

“Jesus, just take the medicine.”

Jared did as instructed, swallowing with wince. “Gross.”

“Yeah. You get used to it.”

Jared sighed, dropping down onto the bed. “Well.”

“What are we doing until then? Er, until we can sleep? Well, actually, I guess we could sleep now, but it wouldn’t be morning– You know what I mean.” Somehow it felt refreshing to Evan to return to his rambling tendencies. 

Jared tugged on Evan's sleeve until he sat on the bed next to him. “I dunno.”

Evan sighed, silent for a moment. Then, he snorted. “I like your room,” he joked. 

Jared chuckled, glancing over at Evan. “Thanks. Cute, isn't it?”

“Mhm, I like your cactus.” Did Evan just agree his own room was cute? Whatever. 

“Yeah,” Jared muttered, voice dropping to a whisper. He stared at Evan's face, memorizing his features. He was so pretty. Not fair. Jared's heart twisted. It would be so easy to lean over and—

The next thing Jared knew, his lips were on Evan's.

Evan’s eyes went wide. On the list of things he was expecting, this definitely didn’t make the top hundred thousand. That being said, something about it was– Well, he was enjoying it, to say the least. His hand found Jared’s cheek as he pushed back against his lips, eyes fluttering closed. 

Jared's head felt fuzzy with emotion as their lips worked against each other’s. He angled his head more, deepening the kiss by opening his mouth ever so slightly. 

Evan’s thumb caressed Jared’s cheek. He parted his lips a little as well, letting the kiss open the door to passion. He felt like he was floating. 

But all too soon, Jared realized what was happening. He ripped himself away with a gasp, scrambling back with wide eyes. “Sh-Shit.”

Evan’s eyes searched Jared’s face. “D-Did you mean that?” he asked, breathing fast. 

Jared felt panicked tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't lie. “Y-Yes. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me “

Evan thought for a moment. “I think I know what.” Then, he was kissing him again. 

Jared's body felt like it was on fire, his breath catching in his chest entirely. God, Evan's lips were soft. Jared poured his feelings into the kiss, pushing back with an intensity he hadn't expected.

After a few seconds, Evan ruthlessly pulled away. “I finally had enough pretend confidence to do that.”

Jared looked up at him, panting slightly. “Finally?”

“Yeah, I mean–” Evan didn’t know what he meant. “Yeah.”

Jared let out a shaky laugh. “You don't know how long I've waited.”

“You don’t know how long I have, either.” Evan sighed contently. “Guess it did get you your prince charming, huh?” Okay, the fake confidence was beginning to be a little much now. 

Jared laughed softly. “I guess it did.” He smiled nervously. “Does that mean..? You want to be together?”

“Preferably when we’re back to normal,” Evan said quietly. “I’ll be a pushover, but at least my clothes will fit.”

Jared gulped, biting back his smile. “I happen to like pushovers whose clothes fit, luckily enough.”

“You have weird standards, Hansen.”

Jared giggled, smiling crookedly. “ _You're_ fuckin weird, Kleinman.”

Evan let out a foreign cackle. “Yeah, guess I am.”

Jared grinned. “You laughed like I do!” His eyes shined, expression light. “And you somehow still made it cute. What the fuck?”

“You’re biased,” Evan said, a little red from being called out. 

Jared hummed thoughtfully. “Probably, if my crush from the past four years has anything to say about it.”

Evan’s eyes widened. “Four years?”

Jared sighed wistfully. “Four years,” he reaffirmed.

“Damn,” was all Evan could say. 

Jared snorted, nodding in agreement. “Damn,” he mimicked. He bit his lip, carefully leaning over to press himself into Evan's side hesitantly.

Evan leaned against Jared in mutual comfort. He sighed. “You’re warm.”

Jared allowed himself to relax into it slightly. “What does this mean? For us?”

“I-I really don’t know. I’m not even sure how long I’ve felt this way,” Evan admitted. It was hard to explain. He knew he felt something—wanting to kiss the smug face off of Jared when he made snide comments—but it wasn’t until now that he really understood. 

Jared pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Well, what exactly is the way you feel?”

Evan contemplated it. “Like...I understand why you say rude things. And I really like you. I dunno, am I crazy?”

Jared chuckled. “I hope not. Because I really like you, too.”

“Yeah? How embarrassing. Got a crush on Evan Kleinman,” Evan teased. 

Jared laughed. “I heard Evan Kleinman has a crush on Jared Hansen.”

“That cute tree nerd with the glasses? Doesn’t everyone?”

Jared grinned at Evan, unable to keep up the goof. “So, Ev, uh,” Jared coughed, clearing his throat. “W-Will you be my b-boyfriend?”

“Once we’re normal,” Evan promised. “Totally.” It was getting weirder, now that he thought about it. With every passing minute, his own room felt more foreign to him. 

Jared grinned, falling backwards onto the bed. “Awesome,” he breathed, sounding delighted.

Evan cackled for a second time, but didn’t make an effort to hide it. “Can’t wait.”

Jared beamed, pulling Evan down next to him. “I'm sleepy,” he muttered, really just wanting an excuse to cuddle.

“It’s nine in the morning,” Evan countered. 

Jared scoffed indignantly. “Shut the hell up and snuggle, you fuck.” His tone was obviously playful as he snorted after the statement, grabbing Evan's arm and placing it purposefully on his waist.

Evan couldn’t find a reason to argue. He used the arm Jared moved to pull him closer. “Fine, Acorn.”

Jared instantly wound his own arms around Evan's middle, snuggling into his chest and twisting their legs together. “Tech Nerd.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “You’re adorable.”

Jared didn't hesitate. “You're perfect.”

Evan snorted unattractively. “Yeah right.”

Jared pinched him.

“Hey! Rude!”

“You're perfect,” Jared reiterated, tone firm.

“No I’m not,” Evan argued, equally firm. 

“You are.” 

“I don’t think you have an objective enough view of this situation, J.”

“Objective views can suck my ass, you're perfect.” Jared hummed.

“Jeez,” Evan replied. “Not sure how I feel about that.”

Jared laughed, eyes closed. “Sleepy.”

“Well, I’m not. You’re gonna leave me awake alone in your house?” Evan shoved him a little. 

Jared laughed again. “I'm also kinda horny, if that sounds more preferable.”

“A little better than roaming your room,” Evan said, head a little swimmy. Was he forgetting something?

Jared laughed again, but this time it was tinged with slight confusion. “You know you don't need to call it my room right? It's your room.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jared frowned a little. “Okay, Ev, this isn't really funny anymore.”

“I’m not doing anything!”

“Evan, you're scaring me now, stop it.”

“You’re always scared, I don’t see what I did this time!”

Jared tensed up. “E-Evan?”

“Take a deep breath, man, what’s going on?” Evan sat up. 

Jared felt tears welling up. “Evan, seriously, come on!”

“How did you go from horny to freaking out so quickly?”

Jared sniffled. “I- you don't remember? Am I crazy?”

“What am I remembering?” Evan was seriously confused. 

“Th-That _these_ aren't our lives! You j-just said we could be together when we’re back to normal! Don't you realize that?”

Evan blinked. “W-Wait.” He took a moment to compose himself. “I don’t know what just happened– Are you okay?”

Jared sobbed a little. “No! If we never go back to normal then it means we'll never be together because you said you'd only be my boyfriend once we’re fixed!”

Evan held a hand out to try and comfort Jared. “I know! I just...forgot for a second. What was going on. It was weird, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I’ll start crying.”

Jared whined, smacking Evan's shoulder. “Don't scare me like that!”

“I didn’t mean to! Something happened!” Evan sighed. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to sleep.”

Jared's body was shaking as he sniffled again, wrapping his arms around himself. “I don't know if I even could, anyway.”

Evan winced. “I can’t help but feel like this is my fault. Can I get you anything?” He knew when he felt bad he always wanted a warm blanket. 

Jared whimpered, grabbing one of Evan's arms and wrapping it around himself. “Hug?”

“Yeah, of course.” Evan moved his other arm so he was hugging Jared completely. He wasn’t sure what had come over him a moment ago, but he didn’t like it. 

Jared buried his face in Evan's chest, holding him tightly. “I want to go back to normal.”

Evan didn’t move. “I-I do, too.” He didn’t want Jared feeling so anxious. It broke his heart. 

Jared sighed. “What do we do?”

Evan shook his head. “I don’t know. Hope. Pray. Whatever. I hope your theory’s right.”

“Me too.” Jared gulped. “I don't want to sit around feeling scared all day.”

“I guess the meds haven’t kicked in yet. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. Wish I could take it from you.”

Jared whimpered slightly. “I wish you didn't have to deal with this at all.”

“Nothing we can do about it.” Evan rubbed Jared’s back. 

Jared didn't respond, allowing himself to just enjoy Evan's embrace.

Evan kept up his pace, trying to comfort the shorter boy. He pushed away the urge to call him Acorn again. 

Jared took a shuddering breath. “Is it too early to say I love you?”

“We’ve known each other for over a decade. I don’t think anything’s too early.” Evan meant what he said, but he also felt a little off-put by his own reaction. It wasn’t him. None of this was like him. Except Jared. 

Jared sighed into Evan’s shirt, grip never faltering. “I love you.”

“Yeah,” Evan sighed. “Love you too.” He felt like he was trapped in a dream. 

Jared took a deep, calming breath. “What are we supposed to do for the rest of the day?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Evan supposed he could find a game or something, but surely Jared would think that was lame or childish. 

Jared sighed. “Don't you have, like, some games or movies or something?”

Interesting. “I have Sorry. You gave it to me last year because I say sorry too much.” Evan shrugged. 

Jared laughed a little. “I thought it would be cute if you played it. Because you say it so much.”

“Cute? I thought you were making fun of me.”

Jared smiled nervously. “Well, I couldn't very well let you figure out I liked you, could I. Too scary.”

“Scary?” Evan scoffed. “You should have told me anyway.”

Jared scoffed. “Well why didn't you tell me?”

“I...I wasn’t sure.”

Jared blinked. “About?”

“My feelings, okay?”

Jared nodded. “Okay. That's fair.”

“But now I am. I’m sure.”

Jared smiled. “Good.” He hesitated. “Kiss me?”

Evan smiled, too. “Why not?” He placed a hand on Jared’s cheek and easily pressed his lips to the other boy’s. 

Jared smiled against Evan's lips, his own hand moving to rest high on his cheek. He pulled away with a content sigh. “Should've done this sooner.”

“Yeah. It’s a miracle. Your lips, I mean. Damn.” Evan wasn’t paying attention to what he said. 

Jared giggled slightly, his arms moving to wrap around Evan's neck. “What's a matter, Kleinman? Can't control your mouth?”

Evan scoffed, but was still smiling. “Guess I can’t, Hansen. Deal with it.”

Jared scrunched up his nose slightly. “Guess I'll just have to keep it busy, then, won't I?” He leaned closer, ghosting Evan's lips.

Evan muttered a low “God” before closing the distance again. 

Jared sighed into the kiss, his fingers winding into Evan's hair automatically. He could definitely get used to this. 

Evan’s hands found their way to Jared’s hips. He kissed with everything he had, pouring out all of his emotions.

Jared found himself whimpering softly, shifting up to sit on his knees so that he could get a better angle. He did his best to match Evan's lead, kissing him with everything he had.

Evan prodded Jared’s bottom lip with his teeth, trying to get him to open his mouth. He bit down teasingly, but not near hard enough to be painful. 

Jared gasped, lips falling open instantly. His tongue automatically moved to swipe across the bite, but ended up running across Evan's lip instead. Jared wasn't complaining.

Evan grinned against Jared’s lips, deepening the kiss further by adding his own tongue, finally. His hands trailed gently up Jared’s sides. 

Jared shuddered at the feeling of Evan's fingers, body going pliant. God, this was really good. He allowed Evan free range of his mouth, his fingers tugging at the other boy's hair.

Evan grunted and put more pressure on Jared’s sides, his fingers meandering back down and then up again. He bit at Jared’s lip again, just to get a reaction. 

Jared whined, pressing his lips even closer, pulling away for a second to switch angles. He moved his hand down from Evan's hair to trail down his chest instead.

Evan pressed harder, and the two of them stayed that way for what didn’t feel long enough. Eventually, Evan pulled away. “Are we doing this or playing Sorry?”

Jared panted softly, smiling at Evan with blown out pupils. “I dunno, this is pretty appealing to me. Sorry is gonna need to step up its game to be on par with your lips.”

Evan blinked. “Strip Sorry.” He paused. “Wait, what the hell?”

Jared's face lit up. “T-Tempting.”

“N-No, I don’t know why I said that. Your personality is getting to me.” Evan shook his head. 

Jared shrugged, still blushing. “Well your _lips_ are getting to me.”

Evan sighed. “If I were me right now, I’d be able to refuse.”

Jared bit his lip to hide his growing smile. “But?”

“But I can’t because I have your common sense—or lack thereof—and my mind is already in the gutter.”

Jared grinned, launching forward to wrap his arms around Evan's neck, the force causing the pair to tumble backwards onto the bed as Jared pressed their lips together yet again.

Evan gladly reciprocated the kiss until he needed to breathe, separating them. “You’re feeling better, huh?”

Jared hummed, trailing a finger up and down Evan’s chest. “You bring out the best I me, I guess.”

“It’s my speciality.” Evan leaned down to kiss Jared quickly. “How would strip Sorry even work? Sounds dumb.”

Jared shrugged. “Everytime you say sorry you get more naked.”

Evan scoffed. “Good luck, Mr. Hansen.”

Jared giggled. “I think it would be harder for you than me,” he teased, winking.

“Shut up,” Evan dismissed. “Go get the game.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “I don't know where it is.”

“Well, I forgot, so go find it.”

Jared pouted. “I don't wanna.”

“Sorry, but I–” Evan paused. “That sorry doesn’t count. Or that one.”

Jared pulled his shirts off anyway.

“That’s how it’s gonna go, huh?”

He smiled at Evan. “Not like you can do anything about it.”

“Wish I could, but I have your impulse control as well.” Evan crept up toward Jared and gave him a sloppy kiss. 

Jared returned it happily, smiling sweetly at Evan as he pulled away. “Sorry.”

“Do I have to?” Evan groaned. 

Jared grinned innocently, nodding.

Evan, expression flat, didn’t break eye contact as he pulled off a shoe. “There.”

Jared pouted, pinching Evan's side. “ _Sorry_.”

Evan rolled his eyes and kicked off his other shoe. “The Hansen in me is very against this.”

Jared hummed. “The Kleinman is very for it.”

“I know,” Evan said deadpan. 

Jared pulled him closer to steal another kiss. “Sorry,” he breathed, kissing him again.

Evan pulled a sock off. “This isn’t even Sorry,” he mumbled after pulling away, only then realizing his mistake. 

Jared pulled his glasses off, tossing them onto the bedside table before returning to Evan’s lips. “It’s much better than Sorry.”

“I’m really hating the Kleinman part of me right now.” Evan pulled off his other sock. 

Jared snickered. “Sorry.”

Evan unlatched his wristwatch. “Don’t you dare say it again.”

Jared met his eyes, gaze devious. “ _Sorry_.”

Evan groaned, reluctantly pulling his shirt off and immediately crossing his arms over his body. “Sorry, asshole.”

Jared pulled off his jeans, returning to Evan after he was left in his boxers. He gently pulled Evan’s arms away from his body, leaning in to kiss him slowly. “You’re beautiful, Ev.”

Evan blushed madly. “Am not. I’m definitely nowhere near the picture of beauty.” He was determined not to say sorry again. 

Jared trailed his lips down Evan’s neck, pausing at his collar bone. “I think your body is perfect.”

Evan shuddered. “No, you don’t,” he countered. Seemed like he just wanted to be contrary at this point. 

Jared bit at Evan’s skin lightly. “How would you know?”

Evan whimpered almost inaudibly. “Because I have your life now.”

Jared’s fingers skimmed up Evan’s sides. “Then you know that I love your body.”

“I-” Evan shivered at the temperature difference. “Do I?”

Jared hummed. “Mhm. More than anything.”

“Sounds a little exaggerated.”

Jared scoffed, biting Evan's collarbone harshly. “ _You_ sound a little exaggerated.”

“That makes no sense–” Evan’s whine cut him off. 

Jared grinned. “Stop being mean to yourself.”

“Self loathing is the only thing I’m good at as both a Hansen and a Kleinman,” Evan wisecracked. 

Jared scoffed, puffing out his cheeks in a pout. “Just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it.”

“Sorry, I have no filter– Shit.” Evan really hadn’t meant to say it again. 

Jared tensed, flushing slightly. “Shit.” He gulped. He could always call it off. Or he could- “Close your eyes.”

Evan just nodded, putting his hands over his eyes for good measure. He felt warm again. 

Jared took a deep breath, steeling himself. He slipped off his boxers, quickly grabbing a blanket from where it had been folded at the foot of the bed, wrapping it around himself. “O-Okay.”

Evan removed his hands. “Oh–” He jerked his head in the direction of the blanket. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

Jared giggled slightly. “Gonna have to try a little harder to get that far, Ev.”

“Sor– Right. I’m good.” Evan averted his eyes anyway. 

Jared smiled at Evan's timidness. “Kiss me, please?”

Evan sighed and—this time softly—pressed his lips to Jared’s. He really hoped they’d be normal soon. 

Jared returned it easily, sighing happily. “This is good.”

“Yeah, I think it is,” Evan responded. 

Jared pulled away from Evan's face, pressing light kisses down his cheek to his neck. “I'm happy, like this.”

“Naked and living my life?” Evan shuddered at the contact. 

Jared breathed out a silent laugh. “Naked and kissing the guy I love.”

“Sorry, but is that all it takes to make you happy? Kinda surprised it took this long.” Evan didn’t realize his mistake. 

Jared paused, grimacing slightly. “Yeah,” he muttered.

“When we’re back to normal, I can’t guarantee I’ll kiss you the same way,” Evan admitted. 

Jared's eyebrows furrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I won’t be this confident, Jared. I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t make sense.” Evan sighed. 

Jared shook his head, bringing a hand up to Evan's cheek. “I don't care about that, Evan. I just want you.”

Evan smiled, opening his mouth to say something probably sappy, but his stomach growled. “I want lunch, apparently.”

Jared gave him a crooked smile. “I'm naked right now, on your bed, with no parents at home, and you're hungry.”

Evan nodded. “Your bed, but yeah.”

“ _Your_ bed, Evan.”

Evan blinked and composed himself again. “Right, sorry, harder than I thought to remember.”

“Don't forget, okay?” Jared looked up at him with a stern gaze.

Evan scoffed. “I don’t see how you haven’t forgotten yet.”

Jared's eyes narrowed. “I refuse to allow myself to.”

“It sounds pretty easy for you,” Evan grumbled. 

Jared shrugged. “I don't know, Ev.”

“I only know I’m hungry.”

Jared shrugged again. “Not my problem.”

“It will be when I get cranky.”

“Fine,” Jared snorted. “But I'm not putting on any clothes.” He climbed off of the bed, clutching the blanket around his shoulders.

“Weirdo,” Evan muttered. He stood up and dismissed all urges to rip the blanket from Jared’s hands. 

Jared just smirked, making sure to add a little more sway in his hips as he walked out of the room.

Evan gulped. “God,” he said, following Jared out, grabbing his shirt on the way. 

\-------

Jared watched Evan eat, his chin propped up in the palm of his hand as he leaned on the table. “Damn.”

“What?” Evan asked around a bite of sandwich. 

“You're really hot,” Jared hummed, eyes trailing over Evan's features.

“While I’m eating like a pig?” Evan questioned. 

Jared hummed. “Imagine how well you could eat a–” he stopped, blushing. “Nevermind.”

Evan’s eyes widened. “Do I want to know?”

Jared shook his head. “Maybe wh-when we’re back to normal.”

“Good plan,” Evan said, taking another huge bite. 

Jared smiled, resuming watching Evan. 

“So you’re just gonna watch me eat, huh?”

“Yep,” Jared said, popping the 'p’.

“It’s kinda freaking me out,” Evan admitted. 

Jared pouted. “I like looking at you.”

“I like eating.”

Jared nodded understandingly. “Me too.”

“Then get something, nerd,” Evan laughed. 

Jared shook his head. “I said I liked eating, not that I was hungry. Some of us have a figure to watch, Ev.”

“Can’t relate.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Eat your sandwich, twunk.”

“I’m more of just a hunk, I think,” Evan said, taking another big bite. 

Jared hummed. “No, definitely a twunk.”

“You’re just being rude now.”

Jared snorted. “I happen to _like_ twunks, jackass.”

“Fine, I’ll be a twunk, whatever.”

“Eat your food, twunk.”

“Shut up.”

Jared winked playfully. “Make me.”

Evan slammed his sandwich down on the plate. “Fine,” he said. He leaned over the table, standing up, and smashed his lips to Jared’s. 

Jared gasped in surprise, but returned the kiss happily. He smiled, murmuring against Evan's lips. “Someone's eager.”

Evan didn’t answer verbally, but instead by pressing into Jared’s words harder. 

Jared leaned closer, the corner of the counter digging into his stomach uncomfortably. He didn’t pay it any mind, though. He was far too wrapped up in Evan’s lips to care. He brought a hand up to thread his fingers through Evan’s hair, not noticing as the blanket slipped down his shoulder, exposing a good majority of his bare chest.

Evan found it difficult to remember they’d agreed on waiting until they were back to normal before doing anything too risky. As he kissed Jared, the fabricated life he supposedly lived increased in dominance in his mind, pushing him to be more confident, leader like, and passionate.

Jared melted under Evan's fingers, allowing him to take control. Any other thoughts flew from his mind as all of his senses were filled with Evan.

Evan finally broke away, but kept Jared there close to him. “As weird as today’s been, I wouldn’t have this any other way.”

Jared smiled back happily. “Me too, Ev.”

“Maybe this is why this happened. To show us we need each other. Or, I dunno. Nevermind. It doesn’t need an explanation.” Evan shrugged. It was then that he realized Jared’s blanket had slipped. “Oh.”

Jared blinked, looking down. “Oh.”

Evan didn’t look away. “Oh.”

Jared looked back at Evan. “ _Oh_.”

Evan still didn’t look away. “Oh?”

Jared felt his cheeks heat up a bit at Evan's prolonged gaze. He shifted. The blanket slipped down more. “Oh!”

Evan _still_ didn’t look away, but his eyes widened. “O-Oh.”

Jared laughed nervously. “Oh?”

“Oh.” Evan’s gaze went unblinking. 

Jared chuckled. “Are you okay?”

Evan shook his head. “I don’t think so, no.”

“...Do you have a boner?”

“Can you put your clothes back on?” Evan deflected. 

Jared didn't move. “.....d-do you want some h-help?”

Evan’s breath hitched. Did Jared mean that? He looked like he did. Damn. “D-Didn’t we agree to wait?”

Jared shifted again, not meeting Evan's eyes. “We said we would wait before we were officially together, n-not to– y'know…”

“I-I thought the two went together.”

Jared smiled slightly. “You're so… pure.”

Evan cocked his head to the side. “Pure?”

Jared waved him off, wrapping the blanket more securely around himself as he stood. “Come back up to the room when you're done eating and… taking care of yourself.

Evan gulped. “Y-Yeah, okay.” 

Jared gave him one last kiss before prancing up the stairs happily.

————

Evan rejoined him twenty minutes later. “Hey,” he said as he closed the bedroom door behind him. 

“Hey,” Jared sang tiredly. He had also… taken care of business. It made him sleepy.

Evan walked over to the bed. “You look tired.”

Jared hummed. “Maybe.”

“It’s not even nighttime. School’s not even out. How are you like this?”

Jared smiled lazily. “Getting off makes me sleepy.”

“Ge–” Evan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of course it does.”

Jared blushed, smiling up at him dopily. “Also makes me affectionate.”

“Does it?” Evan’s attention was achieved. “I’m listening.”

Jared hummed, making grabby hands at him. “Cuddles? I can provide kisses.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” Evan climbed onto the bed. “I just can’t wait until this is over. I tried to water my bonsai five minutes ago and I couldn’t remember how much it needed.”

Jared hummed, pulling him close. “You didn’t overwater him did you?”

“How should I know? It’s a plant.” Evan sunk into Jared’s arms. 

Jared made an alarmed whining sound. “If you killed my baby I’ll break up with you.”

“What happened to this being my house?” Evan scoffed. “I didn’t kill it.”

Jared blinked. “Right, yeah, of course.” He brushed it off as a slip of the tongue. “You'll be pissed when we switch back if you did.”

“I’m...fairly certain that I didn’t.” Evan did not enjoy being suddenly very uneducated about his passions. 

Jared grunted. “How much did you put in?”

“Like...some.”

Jared groaned. “Evan!”

“What?!”

“Don't water anything else until we're fixed.”

“Fine! But the ficus–”

“Nope!”

“Come on!”

Jared pinched Evan’s side. “No touchy!”

“I just wanted to help!”

Jared remained firm. “They'll be fine for a day.”

“I hate this so much,” Evan grumbled. 

Jared rolled his eyes, flipping his body over so that he was laid out half on top of Evan, looking up at him. “I dunno, I mean, it has its benefits. I mean, without it we wouldn’t be like this right now.”

Evan scoffed. “Yeah, but we get it now. The universe can give us a break, can’t it?”

Jared laughed again. “Does it ever?”

“It would be nice!”

Jared kissed him soothingly. “It would be way too easy, then.”

“Things should be easy sometimes,” Evan muttered. 

Jared rested his head against Evan’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “Maybe. But maybe the struggle is worth it too, y’know?”

Evan sighed. “I guess it is.”

Jared took a deep breath as he contemplated things. “What about Zoe?”

Evan winced. “Zoe,” he repeated. “I don’t know. I didn’t even think about her.”

Jared grimaced. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” he admitted, chewing on a fingernail.

“I...I can’t tell.” Evan felt awful for not thinking about Zoe and her best interest, but didn’t that also mean he really liked Jared? Why were things so complicated? “Am I a bad person?”

Jared shook his head quickly. “Of course not.” He went quiet, biting his lip. When he spoke again, his voice was small. “Would you rather it be her here with you right now?”

“No,” Evan said, certain. “No, I don’t– I can’t even imagine her being here. I only want you. But does that make me a jerk?”

Jared let out a breath he hadn’t know he was holding. “No,” he responded, sounding sure. “It just means you moved on.”

“Right.” Evan had moved on. 

Jared ran a hand up and down Evan’s side soothingly. “I- I’m… glad. That you chose me, in the end.”

Evan nodded absently. “Yeah. I am too, Jared.”

Jared leaned up to kiss Evan again before settling back down on his chest. “Can I sleep, Ev?” 

Evan sighed again. “I guess so. Sure.”

Jared grumbled. “Well I don't want to if it's gonna upset you.”

“Go to sleep.”

Jared huffed, pouting. “Are you gonna be upset?”

“Go to sleep, Jared.”

Jared continued to pout at him.

“Please?”

Jared remained firm. “Tell me the truth, Evan.”

“I love you?”

“ _Evan_.”

“I love you!”

Jared groaned. “Evan!”

“What?!”

Jared huffed. “Please just tell me when you're upset by something.”

“In the future, sure.”

Jared took a dramatically deep breath. “Evan,” he whined. “Please be honest.”

Evan pouted. “Go to sleep.”

Jared leaned up, smashing their lips together. He didn't pull away quickly like he had the last couple times.

Evan of course kissed him back. He didn’t pull away either. 

Jared moved his hand up to run his fingers through Evan's hair, pressing him closer. 

Evan smiled against Jared’s lips. His own hand found its way to Jared’s cheek, thumb ghosting over his cheekbone. 

Jared hummed, pulling away just enough to speak. “You do know I’m still naked, right?”

“Jared!” Evan hadn’t even noticed. 

Jared snorted. “What?! Not my fault you didn't notice!”

“My heart is set on other things!”

“Oh?” Jared folded an arm under his chin so that he could stare up at Evan easily. “Such as?”

“Being clothed! And pure kissing and not sex!” Evan was beet red. 

Jared giggled, poking Evan's cheek. “You're so red,” he observed. “I'm not about to try to get you to fuck me right after I got off, Ev.”

“G-Good,” Evan agreed. “Can you put some pants on?”

Jared laughed. “I have boxers on. I lied.”

“God, Jared, what’s wrong with you?” Evan was glad he was at least acting more like himself. 

Jared laughed again. “I wanted to see what you would do!”

“Don’t do that!”

Jared pressed a gentle apologetic kiss to Evan's lips. “Sorry.”

Evan pursed his lips. “I forgive you,” he muttered. 

Jared kissed him again. “Are you sure?”

Evan pretended to contemplate things. “Yeah, pretty sure.”

Jared kissed him a third time. “Positive?”

Evan laughed a little. “Positive.”

Jared nodded. “Good. Now, _you_ go to sleep.”

“What?! Why? I’m not tired!” Evan pouted like a child at bedtime. 

Jared shook his head. “Close your eyes, and sleep with me.” 

Evan knew what he meant, but– “S-Sleep with you?”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Yes, close your eyes and go to sleep. With me, in the same bed.”

Evan nodded absently. “Like when we were kids.”

Jared hummed, wrapping his arms around Evan’s middle to hold him tightly. “Exactly. Except now we’re gay for each other.”

“Fair enough. We’ll be normal when we wake up, huh?” Evan cuddled into Jared’s warmth. 

Jared nodded. “When we wake up, we’ll be official boyfriends. Right?”

Evan returned the nod. 

Jared smiled. “Good. Then go to sleep.”

“Fine,” Evan grumbled. “For you.”

“Good,” Jared repeated. “Thank you.” He held Evan closer.

“Love you,” Evan said, melting into Jared’s touch. 

“I love you too,” Jared smiled, finally letting his eyes fall closed.

————-

When Evan woke up, he didn’t know what time it was. He tried to shake Jared awake anyway. 

Jared grumbled, cracking his eyes open. “What?” He muttered, pouting at the intrusion on his sleep.

Evan didn’t stop shaking him. “D-Did it work?”

Jared blinked. “I have no idea.”

“T-Try to say something you’d say.” Evan was groggy. 

Jared scoffed. “What the hell does that even mean?”

Evan hesitated. “I think it worked.”

“What?”

“You’re being snappy, so didn’t it work?”

Jared paused. “Oh. Sorry.” He sat up, blinking. “‘M always in a bad mood when people wake me up. Didn’t mean to be rude.” He yawned. “Do you think your mom is home yet? We can know for sure if we talk to her.”

Evan didn’t sit up. “She might be home. We can check?”

Jared pouted. “ _You_ can check.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Evan returned the pout. 

Jared scoffed. “Evan, babe, sweetie, listen. I need my beauty rest.”

“We were just asleep!”

“Go find your mom!”

“Fine!” Evan stood up. “Jerk.”

“Love you, babe!”

“Sure you do.” Evan walked out of the room. 

Jared smiled as he closed his eyes again.

Evan rolled his eyes. He figured Jared would be going back to sleep. Whatever. He journeyed down the hall in the search for his mother. 

Heidi was, in fact, home.

Evan found her in no time. Would calling her mom be weird in case she wasn’t actually his mother? He cleared his throat anyway. “Hello?”

Heidi turned around with a smile. “Oh, Evan! Hey, how was school?”

Evan instantly grinned. It must have worked! He had to tell Jared ASAP. “Oh, it was fine!” he lied, turning back toward his room. He could feel bad about skipping school later. 

Heidi blinked in confusion. “Okay? Good talk, honey.”

“Yeah, mom, great!” Evan called over his shoulder, shutting his bedroom door behind him, excited. “Jared! It– Are you asleep again?”

Jared sat up instantly. “My arm isn't broken! It worked!”

Evan stared at him and then down at his own arm. “Damn, I didn’t even realize,” he muttered. He could have avoided confusing his mother. 

Jared bounced in place where he sat on the bed. “Evan!”

“Huh?”

“Boyfriends! We're boyfriends!”

“Hey!” Evan exclaimed as he finally let it settle in. “We are!” 

Jared practically launched himself at Evan, wrapping his arms around him tightly. “What the fuck just happened, anyway?!”

“I don’t know!” Evan stumbled as Jared’s weight crashed into him. “But it’s over! I-I’m me again!”

Jared nodded. “And I'm me! And we're us! And I love you!” 

Evan grinned. “I-I love you, too!” He blinked. “D-Do you feel better?”

Jared shrugged. “I feel great! How do you feel?”

Evan fidgeted. “Like, uh, like normal, I guess.”

Jared pulled back enough to give him a worried frown. “Normal didn't seem too great.”

“I-It’s fine. I’m glad you aren’t the one feeling like this anymore.”

Jared brought a hand up to Evan's cheek. “I wish you didn't have to.”

Evan smiled sadly. “It’s okay. I remember where Sorry is now if you wanted to, um, play that. We don’t have to or anything, it was just an option earlier and I wanted you to know that is still is. An option. I’ll stop talking.”

Jared smiled at him sincerely. “Ev, what do you want to do?” He spoke softly, his thumb petting Evan's cheekbone soothingly.

Evan gulped. “I just want to be with you,” he whispered. “That’s what the universe was trying to tell us. We need each other.”

Jared softened, pressing a gentle kiss to Evan's lips before hugging him again. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Evan replied, hugging him back and closing his eyes in bliss.


End file.
